When we are what we are called to be, we will set the world ablaze.
~ St. Catherine of Siena

I believe that internalized and external forces direct our development as individuals; however, these forces may lead us away from what we are called to be.  I can offer no rubric for what anyone is called to be.  What I can suggest that we much recognize that these forces exist.  I offer that individuals and societies must evaluate these forces.  We must evaluate how these forces give undeserved support for some people and oppress others.  These forces manifest in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, ability, age, religion, and other social locations.  I believe that social justice is possible, and understanding the dynamics of social justice and diversity are an important part of moving us toward what we are to become.  I believe social justice can set the world ablaze.

As my social identity development has progressed, my determination to work for social justice has increased.  At the beginning of my post-secondary educational career, the only career goal I could articulate was that I wanted to "help people." Though this goal is cliché, my education revolved around refining what "helping people" meant to me.  At first, I was interested in labor issues and ultimately easing the burden of the working class. Being a product of the working class, I have witnessed how honest, hardworking people doing their best can still be held back.  To prepare for this work, I planned to go to college and study government.  However, the juxtaposition of a difficult semester in introductory economics with a semester in which I excelled in experimental psychology encouraged me to reevaluate my academics goals.

My academic major changed to psychology, and my ultimate life goal of helping people continued to develop.  An interest in the legal and political side of labor issues developed into a boarder interest of serving oppressed group and attempting to understand the impact of oppression from a psychological perspective.

Now enrolled in a social justice-oriented doctoral program in counseling psychology at the University of Kentucky, I have focused my interests on the psychosocial experience of sexual minorities.  In addition, my assistanceship with the College of Medicine has involved research into the experience of rural Appalachians, an underserved group with one of the highest rates of heart disease, cancer, and suicide.